The Boy In The Striped Pajamas - A final adventure
by GSGFanfiction
Summary: FanFiction assignment for school. Bruno joins up with Shmuel to make their way out the camp as their final adventure before Bruno intends to join his family back in Berlin.
1. Chapter 1

1

Thinking Up an Adventure

 _The story this far…_

 _The nine-years-old boy Bruno, together with his father, mother, sister Gretel and household staff, had moved to a new home, stationed near the German work- and destruction camp he knew as Out-With. At first, he disliked it, for it lacked the opportunities for friendship and exploration. One day, this changed when Bruno set out to do some exploring along the outskirts of the camp. After a long walk, he met Shmuel, a Jewish boy, also nine, who lived in the camp of 'Out-With'. The two became close friends. Every day, after Herr Liszt's lessons and whenever the weather would allow it, they would spend their afternoons talking. When plans were made for Bruno to return to Berlin with his mother and sister, the two made plans for one final adventure._

It was just another afternoon, and Bruno sat in front of the fence, waiting for his friend to appear. It had been three days since his last visit. After a brief wait, Shmuel appeared in the distance. Both were happy to see each other. They quickly got a conversation started, and Bruno decided to tell Shmuel about his family's plans. 'Father wanted to talk to me,' said Bruno, trying to find the best way to phrase it. 'He said me, mother and Gretel would return to Berlin.' 'In two days' time,' he added. 'You are?' Shmuel asked. 'I'm afraid so…' Bruno said. 'I envy you,' Shmuel said. 'you can travel wherever you want, whenever you want… explore the world and all.' This confused Bruno. 'Why can't you?' He asked after a brief moment of silence. Shmuel shrugged his shoulder. 'I don't think they quite want us to leave.' 'What do you mean?' Bruno wanted to know. 'I mean, look at this fence and all the soldiers around… surely they won't just let us go.' Bruno thought about this for a moment. 'I could ask Father,' he said. 'I'm sure he would let you go.' 'I wouldn't count on that,' Shmuel said in a sad tone. He stared at the ground in front of him, noticing the gap between the fence lines. It was easily big enough for a boy of his size to fit through. 'Perhaps… perhaps I could come with you,' Shmuel wondered out loud. 'You mean, to Berlin?' Bruno asked. Shmuel nodded. The thought of crawling through the fence to play with Shmuel had crossed his mind before, but him coming through to his side… Bruno wasn't sure. Off course he wanted to be able to play with his new friend, but Shmuel's story about the fence and soldier scared him a bit. 'I suppose we could try,' he finally concluded. 'I mean; you can't join us in the car but I guess we could find a way.' This brought a twinkle to Shmuel's eyes. 'Do you really think so?' he asked. 'And what would we do after?'. 'We'll figure it out,' Bruno said, noticing the position of the sun. 'but not now. I should get going.'

1


	2. Chapter 2

2

Unexpected help

After returning home, Bruno couldn't get this exciting plan out of his head. Like his mother did whenever the family had plans, he started making a list with things he had to take care of, though mainly to collect his thoughts. He couldn't ask father to take him, so perhaps he would have to smuggle him with them. Maybe he could hide in a suitcase… Bruno remembered tales of explorers who would hide in merchant caravans to reach forbidden and unexplored lands. He would also have to get Shmuel new clothes, since his striped pyjama would stick out like a sore thumb. Surely he couldn't lend him his own clothes: Maria would be sure to notice when anything was missing.

The next day Bruno set out to discuss his plans without Shmuel. After a brief wait at the fence, he showed up. Bruno was worried, for Shmuel's skin seemed to turn more grey with each day. 'Hello Bruno,' Shmuel greeted. 'Hello Shmuel,' Bruno responded. 'I've thought of a way to take you with us.' Shmuel seemed happy to hear this good news. 'What is it?' Shmuel asked. Bruno continued: 'Have you ever read any stories about the Wild West? Stories about cowboys boarding trains mid-ride?' Shmuel looked a bit confused 'How exactly is that going to help us get out of here?' he asked. Bruno continued: 'The trains, that's how! We find a train to Berlin, and make sure you board it before we do. That way you can come with us without father noticing it!' Shmuel seemed to consider the plan before nodding his head. 'You know, Bruno, this might actually work.'

Later that afternoon, Bruno started to gather supplies. He also hoped to find something that could fill in the blanks in the plan, such as how they would reach a train. He remembered the storage shed behind the main house, where Pavel had once helped him find a tyre for his swing. He figured this was where he should start his search. Though at first he had his hopes up, he quickly realised that nothing in the shed was of any use for his plan. When he was about to give up, he noticed a small closet in the back. 'A true explorer must always check everything' he said out loud, as he made his way towards it. In it he found an old overcoat and a pair of boots. Though not entirely his size, he could still fit into it without obscuring his movement. He figured it would also double as a blanket for when that would be needed. He decided to take them with him. He left the shed, and headed for a depot located near the camp's entrance. He had waited for nightfall to make sure he wouldn't be seen.

After a bit of searching around, he noticed he hadn't quite been careful enough: he was shocked be the shouting of a soldier who was stationed as the depot's guard. 'Young man, just what do you think you are doing here?' he shouted. 'You are not allowed here and you know it!' Bruno opened his mouth to respond, but struggled to find words. 'He's here with me' a soft yet strong voice echoed through the depot. It was Pavel, the family's waiter. 'Herr commandant insisted on me helping him find a new tyre for his broken swing.' The guard didn't quite seem pleased with the answer, especially coming for a man like Pavel, who Bruno knew the soldiers didn't quite like. Fortunately, after a brief conversation, the guard gave up and wandered off, not without yelled some strange words at Pavel that Bruno didn't recognise. He decided that was for the better. 'Young man, you shouldn't be out here at this hour,' Pavel said. 'you could get into all kinds of trouble. What are you doing here anyway?' Bruno struggled to find an answer, and after considering his odds, he decided to tell Pavel about his plan. The old man was shocked, and Bruno feared he might have made a mistake. After a few moments of silence, Pavel continued: 'What you are saying is not only stupid but also highly dangerous! There is no way I'm letting you two carry it out…' Bruno's heart sank. '…without my supervision, that is.' Bruno didn't know why he would risk helping them, but didn't really care either. All he could do was fall into the old man's arms and thank him.

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	3. Chapter 3

3

Time to act

Bruno was soon to leave 'Out-With' and there was very little time. Last day was spent thinking up all the details. Bruno went to Shmuel to tell him. 'Okay, so this is what I came up with: tonight, after the final roll call, I will meet you here. I will bring you the coat and boots, you get changed and crawl through the fence. We will then make our way towards the depot where Pavel will be waiting with a jeep, ready to pick us up.' Shmuel was delighted to hear it, but was still shaking with fear. 'Are you sure this will work,' he asked. 'what if we get caught?' 'I don't know' Bruno admitted. 'But Pavel will help us, I'm sure it'll work out.' Shmuel seem satisfied with that answer. After going over the final details, Bruno headed home and started to wait for nightfall.

Bruno knew what was about to happen: it was time to act. He went downstairs to the kitchen, making sure Maria was not around before he stepped inside. He filled a bag with whatever food he could find and set out to meet Shmuel. He figured he could do with some food during his long train ride. When he reached the fence, Shmuel was already there waiting for him. He just sat there, with his legs crossed as always. 'Here,' said Bruno as he handed him the clothes through the fence. 'we should hurry.' Shmuel put on the coat and boots and crawled through the fence. Luckily he still fit, over wearing such thick coat. This however, made Bruno worry about his friend's weight loss, as well as his pale skin.

Making sure to avoid any sources of light, the boys made their way towards the depot, where Pavel was indeed waiting for them near the jeep they would use for their escape. After everyone was inside, Pavel started the engine. Or at least, he tried to. The engine wouldn't catch on. 'What is happening?' Shmuel wanted to know. Pavel's response was inaudible due to his soft voice and the sounds coming from the engine. They were loud, far too loud for what they were doing. Not only they heard it, the sound also attracted a group of soldier coming from the house. Among them was Bruno's father, who stuck out because of his neatly ironed and pressed uniform. Pavel noticed them too, and Bruno could see him getting more and more nervous. Finally, the engine caught on and the jeep gained momentum. They drove down the path and were greeted by the group of soldiers. If they hadn't been enjoying those drinks that Bruno knew always got their spirits up, they would have surely aimed their rifles at them. Instead, Bruno's father ordered them to stop by raising his hand at them. Pavel whispered to Bruno: 'What should I do, young man?' And that very moment, for the first time in his life, Bruno decided that disobeying his father would be the right thing to do. He whispered back: 'Floor it.'

The escape of the jeep caused chaos among the soldiers guarding the camp. Bruno could hear the sirens sound as the jeep drove off into the distance. Though all were scared, they knew there was no going back. They had to reach the train tracks in time for the last train heading west. They were being followed by multiple search parties, both on foot and in vehicles.

As adventurous as Bruno was, even for him this was a bit too much. He felt scared and nauseous. He looked over to Shmuel who sat in the back seat. Bruno might have been mistaking, but he seemed to look even worse than earlier that night. 'We'll be alright', he said to him. However, the sound of his voice was lost in the noise that the jeep made. The sound pierced through the nightly silence. Bruno could hear Pavel mumble: 'No wonder we are still being followed...'

Suddenly, Bruno started to make out another sound in the distance. At first he wasn't sure, but when he saw the railroad appear in the distance, he knew it had to be the train. Moments later, they spotted the train, which greatly lifted their spirits. 'Our goal is near, Shmuel, we're almost there!', Bruno yelled out. Shmuel didn't respond but seemed delighted nonetheless. Pavel made a left at the intersection, so that they now drove parallelly to the tracks, matching the train in speed. Bruno spotted an open-doored storage compartment, and asked Pavel to drive up to it. Though he was terrified of failing and couldn't get himself to look down, he made the jump and landed safely in the compartment. 'Your turn, Shmuel!', he yelled. Despite his weakness, and with a helping hand from Bruno, Shmuel made his way into the train. Pavel tossed the boys their bag with food, whilst keeping his eyes on the road. Behind them, Bruno could see how armed soldiers were starting to catch up with their escape jeep. 'Pavel, come on! You can make it!' Bruno screamed out, filled with both fear and excitement. The old man looked over towards him. 'Freedom is up ahead, young man.', he spoke. 'For you, but not for me…' He had barely finished his sentence before he slammed on the brakes. As if he was pulled back by some sort of string, he shot away from the boys, straight into their pursuers' hands…

Their sudden separation left Bruno filled with fear and sadness. He couldn't understand just why Pavel had just given up… couldn't understand why his father's men kept hunting them down. During the long and cold night that followed, Bruno had time to think. Alongside Shmuel's stories, Bruno started to realise just what kind of man his beloved father truly was.

He understood now, that his plan to re-join his family in Berlin was now completely off the table.

As the sun came up and the train was nearing its destination, Bruno marked this adventure as finished. It was however the start of many, many more, both with Shmuel and without. And as other soldiers started to replace his father's ones to the east and later the west, Bruno was about as excited for the future as he was afraid. Like Pavel said, freedom was up ahead.

2


End file.
